Cotton gin fire extinguisher



Oct. 23, 1962 J. w. HOLLAND 3,059,701

I COTTON GIN FIRE EXTINGUISHER Filed April 27, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Joseph W Holland INVENTORQ BY WWW Em Oct. 23, 1962 .1. w. HOLLAND COTTON GIN FIRE EXTINGUISHER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 27, 1960 Fig. 3

IN VEN TOR.

Joseph 'W. Hp/land United States Patent Ofifice 3,059,701 Patented Oct. 23, 1962 3,059,701 COTTON GIN FIRE EXTINGUISHER Joseph W. Holland, 301 King St., Portageville, Mo. Filed Apr. 27, 1960, Ser. No. 25,064 8 tllaims. (Cl. 169-2) This invention relates to fire extinguishing apparatus, particularly adapted for application to cotton gins for extinguishing fires occurring therein.

It is therefore a primary object of this invention, to provide a fire extinguishing apparatus which is insertable in the air or cotton feed line of a cotton gin, said apparatus having stored therein charges of a dry chemical powder which when dumped into the cotton gin via the feed line thereto will extinguish a fire with minimum damage to the cotton gin.

A further object of this invention in accordance with the foregoing object, is to provide a fire extinguishing apparatus for cotton gins or the like, which is readily installed in widely different installations, and is both effective and economical to use.

In accordance with the foregoing objects, the fire extinguishing apparatus comprises a receptacle having a neck down exit portion which may be connected to an air supply or cotton supply conduit for a cotton gin, said receptacle mounting hoppers therein which are loaded with a dry powder-type of chemical fire extinguisher, said hoppers being held in an upright position and releasable under emergency fire conditions to dump the dry powder into the supply conduit leading to the cotton gin. The receptacle may be reloaded with dry powder by retracting the hoppers, after use, and removing a top cover lid to thereby load or charge the hoppers.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like par-ts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the fire extinguishing apparatus in accordance with this invention shown installed on a supply conduit.

FIGURE 2 is a partial sectional view taken through a plane indicated by section line 22 in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken through a plane indicated by section line 33 in FIGURE 2, showing in dotted lines, one of the hoppers in dumped position.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional -view taken through a plane indicated by section line 4-4 in FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken through a plane indicated by section line 5-5 in FIGURE 1.

Referring to FIGURE 1, reference numeral generally indicates the fire extinguishing apparatus which includes a receptacle portion 12 having a removable lid 14, a tubular exit portion 16 insertable into a supply conduit 18 leading to a cotton gin or the like, said tubular portion 16 being connected to conduit 18 by means of a T-coupling 20. A selectively releasably latch mechanism generally indicated by reference numeral 22 is shown and which mechanism is supported by or mounted by walls and ceiling not shown.

As more clearly seen in FIGURE 3, the receptacle 12 is integral with the tubular portion 16 which in turn is inserted into the T-coupling 20 and clamped thereto by means of clamp 24. Mounted on opposite side walls of the receptacle 12, by means of hinges 26, are a pair of hoppers 24 containing the dry chemical powder 28. The hoppers are shown by solid line in their upright retracted position wherein the open top end thereof are adjacent to the top of the receptacle 12 underneath the cover lid 14. Also, attached to the bottom portion of the tubular portion 16 is a flexible deflector member 30 as seen in FIGURES 3 and 4 which extends into the supply conduit 18 to thereby prevent material flowing through the supply conduit 18 from entering the tubular portion 16 of the fire extinguishing apparatus.

Connected to the hoppers adjacent to the upper end thereof as seen in FIGURE 3, is a flexible wire rope 32 which extends out of the receptacle 12 through a fitting 34 secured to the side walls of the receptacle. As now more clearly seen in FIGURE 1, the wire ropes 32 from each side of the receptacle 12 extend upwardly therefrom and are trained about pulleys 36 which may be attached to the ceiling, extend over double pulley 38 and downwardly toward a latching member 40 having a pair of notches 42 through which the ropes 32 extend. As more clearly seen in FIGURE 5, the ends of the ropes 32 are connected to rings 44 by means of which the ropes 32 are retained within the notches 42.

In order to load the hoppers with dry powder, the top of the receptacle 12 may be removed by pivoting cover 14 about its hinge connection 46 on the receptacle 12, by grasping the handles 48 secured to the topof the cover lid 14, see FIGURE 2.

From the foregoing description, operation of the fire extinguishing apparatus is apparent. Accordingly, when a fire breaks out within the cotton gin, the ring or rings 44 are grasped by the finger to release the ropes 32 from their notches so that the hopper or hoppers may be released from their upright retracted position to a dump position as shown by dotted line in FIGURE 3, to thereby dump the contents of said hopper into the supply conduit 18, the contents being a dry-type chemical fire extinguishing powder will be drawn into the cotton gin via conduit 18 to extinguish the fire therein, especially in view of the suction that would ordinarily be created within conduit 18 as a result of a fire within the cotton gin.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling Within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A fire extinguisher apparatus for a cotton gin or like machine having a supply conduit, comprising receptacle means insertably mounted in said supply conduit, hopper means pivotally mounted and confined within said receptacle means containing a dry type of chemical fire extinguisher powder, closure means on said receptacle means removable for loading of powder into said hopper means, and selectively operable means operatively connected to said hopper means for holding said hopper means in retracted position, and releasable to permit said hopper means to fall of its own Weight toward a dump position wherein it dumps its powder into said supply conduit.

2. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said receptacle means includes a top inlet portion and a bottom exit portion insertable into said supply conduit and deflector means connected to said exit portion and extending into said supply conduit to prevent flow of material into said receptacle means.

3. The apparatus as defined in claim 2, wherein said hopper means includes a pair of powder containing hoppers pivotally mounted within said receptacle means on opposite side walls thereof.

4. The apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein said selectively operable means includes flexible means conneoted to said hoppers and releasable latch means en- 3 gageable with said flexible means to hold said hoppers in retracted position.

5. The apparatus as defined in claim 4, wherein said hoppers are pivotally mounted intermediate said bottom exit portion and said top inlet portion of said receptacle means whereby said hoppers in retracted position have open ends thereof adjacent said closure means, while in dump position adjacent said exit portion.

6. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said hopper means includes a pair of hoppers pivotally mounted on opposite side walls of said receptacle means intermediate a bottom exit portion thereof and a top portion on which said closure means rests.

7. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said selectively operable means includes flexible means connected to said hopper means and releasable latch means engageable With said flexible means to hold said hopper means in retracted position.

8. A fire extinguisher apparatus for a cotton gin or like machine having a supply conduit, comprising, receptacle means insertably mounted in said supply conduit, hopper means pivotally mounted and confined within said receptacle means containing a dry type of chemical fire extinguisher, latch means for holding the hopper means in an upright loading position within the receptacle means and selectively operable means releasable to permit said hopper means to fall of its own weight toward a dump position wherein it dumps its extinguisher into said supply conduit.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,002,387 Gordon Sept. 5, 1911 1,243,892 Strong Oct. 23, 1917 2,825,145 Scott et al Mar. 4, 1958 

